Some of Bhuvan Arora's most popular characters on screen have been con men. But the longest game he’s ever played isn’t on-screen. Before his breakout role in Prime Video's Farzi (2023), the Delhi-born FTII graduate spent nearly a decade playing small parts and featuring in more than 50 advertisements.
Since then, he hasn’t slowed down, appearing in titles like Chandu Champion (2024) and Amaran (2024), followed by a lead role in the series Janaawar: The Beast Within (2025). He is now enjoying back-to-back releases with Waiting Hai and the second season of Dupahiya.
As for that con man theory, Arora is aware that two of his most memorable characters (from Farzi and Waiting Hai) have one thing in common: they love to game the system.
“I think it’s my face. People see a scamster in me for some reason,” Arora laughs as he chats with THR India.
While the actor is having a packed release year, he is already getting ready for another big title: Prime Video's Farzi 2 directed by Raj and DK.
Arora says he has just a few more days of shooting left on season two of the show which is headlined by Shahid Kapoor.
He stays tight-lipped on the plot, but reveals that exciting new faces have joined the cast and the stakes are much higher this time.
"Working with Shahid Kapoor over these two seasons has definitely brought us closer, especially in our creative discussions and there's a nice brotherly bond I share with him." Arora says. "We have now reached the stage of exchanging memes, which I'd say is the demarcation of friendship."
Farzi (2023), starring Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, and KK Menon amongst others, was a turning point for Arora. The currency in Farzi (2023) may have been counterfeit, but the perks that followed were very real.
Since Farzi, Arora has had a dedicated team managing everything, right down to his hair and makeup, a comfort he says he’s very thankful for. He says his work ethic, however, hasn’t budged an inch.
"It's not always been like this," he says.
When asked how he got through countless years of hustling, playing small parts, and doing ads, Arora shared, "I had a house to run, I had rent to pay." What made it bearable was a batch of friends hustling alongside him.
"You know how Indians react when there's a power cut? They step outside to first check if the neighbours lost their electricity too. If you're unemployed, so is your best friend."
Now an established streaming face, Arora thinks OTT has truly been democratic for actors like him, but warns of a "problem of plenty," with platforms increasingly steered by numbers and audience feedback.
Business is business, he concedes, but cinema once lost its way chasing numbers too. "Even if we are able to hold on to 70 per cent of the creative liberty we enjoy on OTT, I think we'll still be in a good place," he shares.
When asked if streaming has the ability to build star power, he points to Mirzapur: The Movie (2026) as proof. "But I'll be honest, OTT has turned many stars into actors and many actors into stars," he adds. "It has even taught a few stars to act, ones who never really knew how to act at all."